I had the good fortune of being raised in a family with deep roots in the City of Milwaukee’s performing arts. My family and close relatives were early visionaries and performers, dating back to the early 1900s, who worked especially hard behind the scenes, and in front of audiences. They excelled as leaders and role models who invested in their community, family, and children, and enjoyed the rewards of service to others. Over the years, they helped build or contribute to many of the City’s performing arts – endeavors not possible without the support of Milwaukee government, public schools, industry, and especially the community. Below are some highlights of these contributions.
With Gratitude,Mike Anello
Emil Anello brothers and mother: Arthur, John‑David, Amina, Ned, Emil, Antonina
Maestro John-David Anello
1907-1990; Emil Anello’s oldest brother; Mike Anello’s uncle
John Anello spent a lifetime developing and directing music programs for Milwaukee County and its residents. Below are highlights of John Anello’s 64 years in the performing arts, including the important contributions by his wife, Josephine, and son, John Anello Jr.
Italian Chorus (1934)
Milwaukee Public Schools
From 1933-1949, John and his wife, Josephine, built a music program that introduced various forms of music to students at several Milwaukee Public Schools. They arranged choral music in Polish, German, Italian, French, Spanish, and English, so that the many ethnic enclaves of Milwaukee could participate.
Italian Chorus (Precursor to the Florentine Opera Company of Milwaukee)
In 1931 , John Anello became director of the Chorus, after only six months in existence. John’s wife, Josephine, also worked alongside John in all aspects of the growing Chorus.
The Florentine Opera Company of Milwaukee (1936)
John Anello founded the beginnings of the Florentine Opera in 1936, with performances held at Lincoln High School. During these early years, John’s wife, Josephine, was accompanist, bookkeeper, costume designer, secretary, and sales manager for the fledgling opera group.
In addition, John and Josephine created many of the musical arrangements. John also taught the chorus how to read music and sing. John and Emil’s mother, Antonina Anello, organized women to make the costumes.
Other family members contributed: John’s brother, Ned Anello, was a member of the Italian Chorus in the early years and a chorus member in productions at Music Under the Stars.
Playbill, Second National Opera Festival 1949
After WWII, performances moved from Lincoln High School to the beautiful Pabst Theater. In 1970, these moved to the new Performing Arts Center. In 1946, the Company mounted a grand production at the specially-constructed Centurama Amphitheater at the Milwaukee lakefront, complete with a chorus of 1000 voices.
Milwaukee hosted the National Opera Festival in 1948, and in 1949, John was named President of the National Opera Association. “Encore Echoes,” was a WTMJ radio production that began in 1946, and included 18 Florentine chorus members. The program won National First Place in Billboard Magazine for outstanding program in 1948. John, no stranger to WTMJ, began singing as the “Gondolier” in 1932, and was on-call to fill the hours when rain caused cancellation of the radio broadcast of local baseball.
Music Under the Stars, Emil Blatz Temple of Music at Washington park, 1947
In the late 1940s, the Milwaukee County Parks Commission appointed John Anello to music program director for Music Under the Stars, and in 1956, promoted him to music director and principal conductor. John Anello directed Music Under the Stars for 45 years.
Performances were held at several Milwaukee County Parks, but soon found a home in the Emil Blatz Temple of Music at Washington Park. In the 1970s, the Music Under the Stars program led to production of “The Zoomphany,” held at the Milwaukee County Zoo.
“The Pillow Pops,” was another novel concert series at the Bradley Pavilion of the Performing Art Center, where children attended in their pajamas and rested on blankets and pillows.
Music Under the Stars, Emil Blatz Temple of Music at Washington Park, 1947
Music Under the Stars, Fiddler on the Roof (Maestro John-David Anello lower left)
Milwaukee Pops Orchestra - Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Roots
John Anello always wanted a venue to showcase Milwaukee’s talented musicians. In 1948, John Anello formed the semi-professional Milwaukee Pops Orchestra, modeled after the “Boston Pops” format. Against an entrenched following of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with it’s annual 10-concert schedule in Milwaukee, John Anello chose to avoid stiff opposition by naming the orchestra the “Pops” in lieu of “Symphony.” John Anello shared conducting privileges with guest conductors, including Arthur Fiedler and other national stars. Anello, always conscious of opening the music experience to a broader audience, followed the Boston Pops’ model, with audience members sitting at tables and cocktail services between numbers. In 1959, the Milwaukee Pops Orchestra, progressed to the “symphony” when it was reorganized after John Anello’s departure as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
John Anello conducting the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
John Anello published “Musical Memories — The Universe Has Music for Those Who Listen, The Memoirs of John-David Anello, Sr.” edited by Catherine McGarry Miller. Shorewood: Musical Memories Publications, 1993. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the book, please contact Mike Anello.
Jim Anello, John David Anello III, and Gio Anello with Bronze Bust of John-David Anello.
Click on the image to learn more about the bust.
John Anello Jr.
1933-2018; John David Anello’s son; Mike Anello’s cousin
John Anello Jr. launched his musical career at age 16 in the Florentines, leading to a 26-year career with the company. He worked in repertory theater, programming, sales and marketing, and special events planning and coordination. He was producer/artistic director of Stars Production, which included Music Under the Stars, Pillow Pops, and the High School Theater Festival.
His son, John Anello III, was involved in music performance and education at the high school and college level, directing chorus as well as staging and choreography of musicals. In 2009, he founded the Mukwonago Area Community Choir and is director.
John Jr. and John David Anello III, with son Gio
John Anello Jr, and Sally
John-David Anello and John Jr. with Victor Borge - Music Under the Stars
Jim (left) and Bob Anello (right) - Milwaukee Conntinentals Youth Band
Emil Anello’s Son, No. 2
Concert Bands
Jim joined the Milwaukee Conntinentals Youth Band in the early 1960’s, and was a member of the Cub band, Cadet band, and Senior band. A highlight of this period was the 1966 trip to the VFW National Convention in New York City, where he witnessed his first national championship drum and bugle corps show. After 1966, he jumped to the Milwaukee Elks Band until 1968. Jim played in the orchestra and in the concert band at University of Wisconsin – Whitewater.
Drum & Bugle Corps
Jim and his brother Bob joined the Racine Kilties as color guard members in 1970. However, Jim had to leave the corps in order to earn money for college, and marched in four competitions as a Kiltie. Jim became a volunteer along with his brother Mike for the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps in 2003, and still occasionally participates in volunteer activities each year.
Jim Anello, playing Felix Unger in "The Odd Couple"(right) - UW Whitewater
Theater
Jim was a performer in several plays and musicals during college and at local theaters. He was an English teacher at Brookfield East, and directed plays for the drama department. Once he began directing plays, he determined he needed to learn more about vocal production, so he could plan onstage movement to best aid the singing actor. He began private voice lessons to better learn as much as he could about singing, and this led to a lifelong passion of singing.
Jim Anello, lower right
Milwaukee Symphony Chorus
Throughout the years, Jim has been a member of church chorus and cantor at mass.
Jim joined a new choir at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music that had formed as the official choir of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In January, 1978, he auditioned for director Margaret Hawkins and was accepted into the chorus. Outside of one year when he lived in Minneapolis, he has been a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus for 46 years and counting.
Bob Anello with the Milwaukee American Legion Band
Emil Anello’s Son, No. 3
Bob Anello, Assistant Drum Major Mariners Drum & Bugle Corps, 1974
Bob Anello, Racine Kilties Drum & Bugle Corps, 1970
Concert and Marching Band
Bob began playing clarinet in 1960 and was a member of the Milwaukee Conntinentals Youth Band from 1963 to 1970. Memorable experiences include participating in a performance tour of Austria, Germany, and Denmark during the summer of 1968. Bob has played clarinet with the Milwaukee American Legion Band since 1972 and was later selected as drum major for several years. Today, he continues to perform with the Legion Band, where he is also the sheet music coordinator and librarian. The Legion Band also performs musical pieces, arranged by Robert Anello Music.
Drum & Bugle Corps
Bob marched in the color guard with the Racine Kilties Drum & Bugle Corps. He later played baritone bugle (and, briefly, was drum major) in the Milwaukee-based St. Matthias Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps. Later, he was assistant drum major (“Captain Crunch”) for the Mariners Drum & Bugle Corps of Greendale, Wisconsin. For about five years in the early 1990s, Bob returned to precision marching as a member of the Spectacle City Mariners Senior Drill Team and Color Guard.
Bob and Emil Anello, Milwaukee American Legion Band
Music Arranger
Over the past decade, Bob has arranged musical pieces for concert band by composers as varied as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Mahler, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and Rick Wakeman. One of the most interesting works is a march, written in the style of Karl King, based on traditional song tunes later made famous by Elvis Presley. Most of these are available through his music publishing company: Robert Anello Music and YouTube.
Mike Anello, Milwaukee Technical and Trade High School Marching Band (Drum Major)
Emil Anello’s Youngest Son, No. 4
Mike Anello, Milwaukee Conntinentals Youth Band
Mike Anello, Racine Kilties Drum & Bugle Corps (May, 1978)
Michael Anello played clarinet from 1973-1980 in concert and marching bands in the Conntinentals Youth Band, and the senior band at Milwaukee Technical & Trade High School, where he was drum major his junior and senior years.
He performed in the color guard “rifle line” of the 1978 and 1979 seasons of the Racine Kilties Drum & Bugle Corps, and in the 1982 and 1983 seasons of the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps, and in Winter Color Guard competition, in the 1979 season of the Racine Kilties and in the 1981 and 1982 seasons of the State Street Review. Michael played cymbals, tambourine, and cowbell for alumni performances of the Madison Scouts and Racine Kilties.
He was a volunteer with the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps, including volunteer coordinator 2007-2009, and served on the Board of Directors in 2005.
Mike Anello, Racine Kilties Drum & Bugle Corps - Winter Color Guard (1979)
Mike Anello, State Street Review Winter Color Guard (1981)
Mike Anello, Madison Scouts Drum & Bugles Corps
Jean Anello
1925-2012; Emil Anello’s wife, Mike Anello’s mom
No story about music in the Anello Family would be complete without the deserving recognition of Emil’s wife, Jean Anello. Over the years, it’s hard to fathom the number of miles and hours she spent, hauling three brothers to lessons, rehearsals, and performances, and working the fundraisers, like the concession stands, or selling candles, frozen pizzas, Christmas trees, or raffle tickets. And the support that She and Dad showed for their son’s performances in music and theater was unmatched.
Emil and Jean Anello, Circus Parade
Jean and Emil Anello
Emil and Jean Anello, Vienna
Emil Anello, 1936
Emil Anello
Emil Anello
Emil and Bob Anello, American Legion Band
1920-2010; Mike Anello’s Dad
Musician & Educator
Emil Anello was a professional musician from his teenage years in the 1930s to his passing in 2010. He played clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and flute. His typical week involved practicing at after work, rehearsals with different bands in the evenings, and performances on Friday and Saturday nights. Emil gave private lessons for clarinet and saxophone, and taught Saturday morning music lessons in the Milwaukee Public Schools for 25 years.
Early performance years
Mouthpiece Craftsmanship
Emil worked for several decades in the machine trade and tool and die manufacturing. He combined those skills with his musical background to design a mouthpiece product line for clarinet and saxophone, and in 1974, he founded “Precision Mouthpiece.” His mouthpiece business offered a standard product line, based on tip openings by all the most popular mouthpiece brands, and he created custom mouthpieces, as well. His mouthpiece refacing skills were recognized nationally by musicians in all parts of the country. Emil worked closely with renowned jazz clarinetist, Chuck Hedges, who used glass mouthpieces for his signature “swing era” style.
Later performance years
Big Band Orchestras and Combos
Emil performed in numerous big bands and combos, community concert bands, and played with the Eagles Club house band for performances that included Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Sophie Tucker, Frankie Avalon, Liberace, Sergio Franchi, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Wayne Newton, Jimmy Durante, The Ink Spots, The Four Freshmen, The Four Aces, The Four Lads, Ford & Hines, Ted Louis (Mr. Entertainment), and Anna Maria Alberghetti.
He played the difficult charts for several years at the circus, rodeo, and variety shows.
He was band leader of the Army Big Band that performed for USO concerts on Okinawa during WWII.
Music Under the Stars Chorus Member
Emil was a member of the chorus for many performances at Washington Park’s “Music Under the Stars.”
Milwaukee/Waukesha County Parks Concerts and Parades
Emil Anello performed in the award-winning American Legion Band in Milwaukee for more than 50 years. His son, Bob, who joined the band in the 1970s, played alongside Emil for many years. The band was highly competitive and entertained hundreds of thousands of people through their performances in parades, playing concerts in the parks, and traveling nationally and internationally. Emil performed every year on the 4th of July at McGovern Park, only blocks from our home on 53rd and Silver Spring, and also performed in the Waukesha Community Concert Band. Each year, he performed with a combo atop the mighty Pawnee Bill Circus Wagon in Milwaukee’s Great Circus Parade. He played in parades on the Blatz Band Wagon, representing the Blatz Brewery, a longtime sponsor for the American Legion Band.
Emil Anello, Blatz Band Wagon
Emil Anello and Mike
Emil Anello, Pawnee Bill Circus Wagon, Great Circus Parade
Band Members, Pawnee Bill Circus Wagon, Great Circus Parade
Emil Anello, Pawnee Bill Circus Wagon, Great Circus Parade
Emil Anello, Pawnee Bill Circus Wagon, Great Circus Parade
Emil Anello and Art Zens, Pawnee Bill Circus Wagon, Great Circus Parade
Emil Anello, Pawnee Bill Circus Wagon, Great Circus Parade
Green Bay Packers Band, Milwaukee County Sadium
Green Bay Packers Band, Milwaukee County Sadium
